People in their pre and in Retirement Life Phase How to identify, - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

People in their pre and in Retirement Life Phase How to identify, access and engage with them Kevin Lavery 3 rd December 2014

Setting the scene Fact: two thirds of all the people in the history of the world who have reached the age of 65 are alive now

Developed nations got rich before they got old. Undeveloped nations got old before they got rich In less than 35 years there will be more people over 60 than under 15 globally “Population ageing is a major trend with global implications. With one in nine persons in the world aged 60 years or over, projected to increase to one in five by 2050, population ageing is a phenomenon that we can no longer ignore.” United Nations Population Fund 22012

Quirky example Japan diapers In 2008 sales of disposable diapers for adults matched those for infants. Demand for infants will decline by 10% demand for adults will rise by 40%

How things have changed The over 65 age group will continue to grow in size much faster than the total UK population 11 million 65 plussers and growing

Disability issues and ageing • In most countries 1 in 10 is disabled by physical, sensory or mental impairment • Bits stop working as well as they used to • Eyesight deteriorates from age 40 • 50 year old’s eyes receive 50% of light received by 20 year old, an 80 year old only 20% • Hearing deteriorates – difficulty discriminating between background and foreground noise • Verbal memory declines faster than visual memory

Changes due to physical ageing are universal Physiological changes to consumers are common across: • All geographies • All social and economic classes • Men and Women Older people spending more making life comfortable Huge implications for companies and governments

A word about the Baby Boomers? • Born in the 18 years after WW2 – 1946 - 1964, the world’s fastest growing segment • Nearly 17 million of them in UK, 78 million in US, 4 million in Australia • In the US they spend 7 times more than Gen X and Gen Y combined • Changed everything they touched – NHS, Schools, Music • Formative years 60s and early 70s - prosperity, first credit cards, pop music, moon landing, • Once the first ever teenagers – post war bulge moving through the population • Often referred to as TV generation – 1 st to have grown up with TV in the home • Buy 61% of new cars in UK. In US consumers buy 13 cars in lifetime – 9 after age 40 • Fastest growing group online • Challenging today’s notion of retirement and today’s perception of ‘being old’

Going beyond the numbers • What makes them tick? • They’re not all the same - lifestyle and life-stage are more important • Today’s Boomer is a moving target – need to keep moving with them • Knowing what they feel today about a product or service won’t be the same in 5 years time

A youth centric marketing world ... In a communication culture that worships Sound Bites, mature consumers are frequently bewildered by much of the advertising they see. • Traditional marketing focused on 18-35 – when boomers were that age they were a huge influential group. Marketers and media failed to move with them • In a survey of 45,000 50 plussers , 86% said they didn’t relate to most advertising – similar surveys in USA and Australia came up with the same kind of figures • Yet most advertising and marketing remains ‘youth centric’ • There is an internal audience problem – people who create the ads don’t look like the people who buy the products • The average age of an ad agency account executive in is 28. This compares to the ages of boomers 49-67. So the ad agencies are fielding people who are three decades younger than the age group that controls the marketplace

Spending boost for the over 50s – disposable* income up 25% in 4 years! Britain’s over 50s spending power now £290 billion Up 25% since downturn began compared to a rise of just 2% for under 50s But many have no savings Only 10% of advertising spend is aimed at older market * After deduction of housing, fuel, power, food, non-alcoholic drinks, clothing and footwear

Are they leaving money? Do they need money? • Just two in five people make a Will – 70% pensioners • 7% of deaths now result in a charitable Will = £1.8 billion p.a. • What about Inheritance Tax Planning? • What about Equity Release? • What about Long Term Care?

How should we communicate with older age groups? • A 28 year old can’t think 50, 60 ,70 or 80 • People over 50 hear differently to people in their 20s or 30s – it’s nothing to do with their ears! • Older folk see life through different lenses too • Design with older eyes in mind • Use the right words • Make sure websites are 50+ friendly - better buy in from all ages Remember, people don’t fundamentally change with age - if they were grumpy, shy as kids probably the same now

Inclusivity • Making sure things work better in general and for older people in particular • Being able to communicate with as many people as possible without alienating any

Making age-friendliness a way of life An environment in which physical needs of older people are satisfied in a way that is natural and beneficial for all ages Apple – good example 46% of customers in USA aged 55+ Communications, product, sales support

It’s all in the words Copy drivers still apply FEAR, GREED, GUILT, ANGER, EXCLUSIVITY, SALVATION and FLATTERY

Use of imagery - some rules of the road  Clean and simple images allow marketers to make an impact faster than text  We are exposed to 4000 or 5000 marketing messages each day  To connect we need to get through crowd of competing messages past the right brain ‘gatekeeper’ to left brain  Photos tell a story that is more quickly perceived by older consumers  They can trigger a memory or prompt an emotional reaction  Emotional marketing works with all consumers BUT is far more effective with mature consumers

Not like this

But more like this?

Nostalgia can work

Aspiration can work too

Back to videos A few words of wisdom ‘ The most important markets today, boomers and geezers (quirky older people). Yet most companies are going after 18-34 year olds. Look, there ain’t many of them, and most of them have no money. Such backwards thinking prevents most businesses from achieving the excellence they should be striving for. Businesses are idiotic to pass up marketing to older people...’ Tom Peters, USA ‘Despite being the richest, biggest spending generation in history, consumer marketing organisations have established less empathy with boomers than with younger generations. Charlie Nelson, Forseechange, Australia ‘I’m extravagant but I can do frugal. It’s easy for old ladies to do frugal because nobody wants to sell them anything. You walk into a car showroom and the sales people run and hide. Fashion outlets would pay you not wear their clothes...’ Germaine Greer

How do we we reach them? • Direct Mail – targeted • Newspapers and Magazines • Radio, TV • Email – not cold • Internet - research

What is Social Media? Social Media is an infrastructure used to connect people and to interact, not just a media platform to distribute your message

Pre 2005 life was much simpler

Nowadays its all changed – it’s two way and here to stay

Have older consumers adapted to 2 way communications? • ‘Younger old’are not just consuming content but are creating it and more prepared to join the conversation. • ‘Older old’ remain largely one way • Don’t expect older people to respond the same way as younger folk

Social media – the facts • 55-64 year olds are the fastest growing demographic using Twitter - increasing by 79% since 2012 • 43% of those aged 65+ use social media • 60% of 50-60 year olds use social media • 45-54 age bracket is the fastest growing demographic on both Facebook and Google+ • Social media use among people over 50 is growing faster than any other age group • After connecting with family and friends people use social media to follow people who tweet about something they care about and find entertaining • Women spend on average 9% more time on social media platforms than men

Social media – the facts • Twitter is where many people are reading breaking news • Google+ is the second largest social network • The majority of older users of social networking are not only consuming content, they are now creating it, modifying it and sharing it • Older people are more receptive to facts and information • Personal recommendation is one of the key driving factors for people over 50 to purchase

Social Media – the rules A picture is worth a thousand words People are there to be social and to interact with others not to be passive consumers of information Use this opportunity to learn more about your customer base Think P2P not B2C or B2B Social media is conversational. Listen – then have a two wayconversation